URLs du Jour

2009-10-12

The Nobel Prize in Economics also went to
Barack Obama went to "Ten-Four"
Elinor Ostrom of Indiana and Oliver Williamson of UC Berkeley.
Don Boudreaux
at Cafe Hayekexplains why this was
a good call from the Swedes. Alex Tabarrok agrees.

The president has worked tirelessly since even before his inauguration
to wrest control of the U.S. economy from failed free markets, and the
evil CEOs who profit from them, and to turn it over to wise, fair and
benevolent bureaucrats.

Hm, maybe some sarcasm there.

I've noted before
The Official Progressive Politician's Guiding Philosophy on Tax Fairness and
Equity:

You got the money.

We want the money.

So gimme the money.

The latest example, taxing financial transactions, is analyzed
by Kenneth Anderson at the Volokh Conspiracy. It's pretty much
ideal, if by "ideal" you mean "a way to pick people's pockets without
them realizing it." Anderson's conclusion:

Does a complex welfare state need taxes? Sure. Transparent, widely
shared, everybody pays something and everyone can see what they pay, so
that everyone has a stake in the extent of taxing and spending, as
visible and little distortionary as possible. Thus almost the opposite
direction to where the US tax code has drifted since the 1986 reform and
even more so to where current proposals aim to go. They tend to
increase the rent-seeking possibilities of the political class and its
ability to ‘get the juice’ from economic actors who must
navigate the artificial shoals of regulations that aim to benefit
particular constituencies and particular politicians. VAT taxes flunk
the transparency requirement, as do turnover taxes of this kind. That
is, of course, one reason why politicians love them.

For the thirty-third year in a row, I missed Durham's
Leif Ericson Day parade.

The parade started in 1977 as a three-man tribute to the famous Viking
explorer. Noble K. Peterson, a former University of New Hampshire
professor, and two friends of Scandinavian descent were washing clothes
at the Durham Laundercenter one morning when they decided to march next
door to Young's Restaurant to celebrate the famous explorer.

Since then, many have gathered at the laundromat, located on Main
Street, at 6 a.m. on the Sunday before Columbus Day to take the 25-foot
march to Young's Restaurant while chanting "For noble deeds and daring
done, we all salute Leif Erickson. Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah!"

My excuse this year was to protest the silliness of this year's
Nobel Peace Prize. Yeah, that's why I didn't go. Also, I can't find
my Viking helmet.

The Professional

A new Spenser book from Robert B. Parker causes withdrawal from lesser
forms of entertainment; I go into incommunicado mode while turning
pages. Fortunately, it's easy going.

Our hero is hired by a foursome of trophy wives with rich older
husbands; each has been seduced by full-time lothario Gary Eisenhower,
and each is now threatened with blackmail about their affairs.

Spenser makes relatively short work of the case, but the outcome
leaves some aggravating loose ends. In an unusual twist, he finds
himself kind of liking Gary, who's supposed to be the villain.
So he remains semi-attached to the participants, even after his
detective obligations have lapsed; he continues to investigate
as a freelance snoop.

Parker's writing style doesn't leave much
room for long introspective monologues. (You want Travis McGee, friend,
you know where you can find him: according to Google
Maps,
about 1474 miles south on I-95.)
But Spenser's clearly confused by his own motivations
here, and irritated about it; he's a know-thyself kind of guy,
and that's not working for him here.

In a nice touch, it's ambiguous whether the book's title, The
Professional, refers to Gary or Spenser. Probably a little of both.

And, as has become usual for the Spenser series, at least one of his
original clients turns out to deeply regret hiring him. His office
should probably have a warning on the door: "Come in if you want, but
you might be sorry."

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